Anecdotes from an interpreter | Simulizi fupi kutoka kwa mtafsiri

Story 1 | Simulizi 1

I honestly don’t remember the age at which I first found out about sex.

When I first got my period, I told my mother. She said that I was becoming a woman. I kind of already had an idea because I’d seen aunts and older cousins use sanitary products. There was no shame about nakedness, women just bathed and dressed in front of each other.

I was about 8 when my parents first spoke to me about sex. I was starting to get breasts and it was a short chat about some of the changes that would occur. There was no big talk. I grew up with and shared a room with older female cousins so I just knew that I would ultimately look like them. There were talks here and there about not messing with boys because that’s how you get pregnant or end up with HIV if you don’t use condoms.

Compared to what I’d heard elsewhere: like my other friends, I also learned about it from biology class and nurses who provided reproductive education in school. Some people learned from a designated lady in the village i.e. initiation school, who taught girls about womanhood etc.

Talking to future kids: Absolutely. I don’t intend to have one big talk because those are just awkward for everyone. I want to have regular conversations about these things.